Lies We Believe

Self-medication is a term often used in psychological circles to describe behavior that is designed to eliminate or, at the very least, reduce our personal pain.

he truth is, self-medication is actually an attempt to escape from myself by diving into myself. Although there may be a “temporary” relief from the pain, while submerged in the self-medicating behavior, I eventually have to surface again. The tragedy is that when I do surface, I find that the pool of my misery has only gotten larger, more loathsome, and more frightening. My response to this is a deep sense of failure and increasing belief in the hopelessness of my situation. Over and over again I am forced to choose between two extremes: either give in completely or make “one more” desperate attempt to change. Surrender brings a sense of complete helplessness and despair. One more attempt to change only begins the repentance/promise/failure cycle all over again. Deep in my spirit I hear a wicked and satisfied chuckle, accompanied by a single word, “gotcha”.

Anyone trapped in this type of cycle knows exactly how this feels. If you are currently in this place, you know and are experiencing the pain, fear, and sense of hopelessness of being there. If you are also a Christian, you know the feelings of failure and sense that God can’t possibly still love you. This leads to the nagging thought that you are “damaged goods”: someone who exists beyond the reach of the power found in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. Someone God cannot help, let alone forgive.

Often people trapped in these types of cycles struggle to understand the true nature of both sin and grace. We are all sinners who fall desperately short of the glory of God. There is no stairway into heaven. We cannot work our way to God, either before or after a salvation experience. To think otherwise betrays a lack of understanding of what sinfulness actually is, and how preposterous grace is. If being trapped in a sinful behavior disqualified a person from acceptance by God then Gal 6:1-2 would not be in the Bible “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:1-2 NIV)

Remember me talking about hearing the word “gotcha?” When the devil whispers “gotcha” he wants you to believe that you are hopelessly lost. He wants you to believe that you are so damaged and so broken that God cannot possibly love you, let alone forgive and accept you. Please hear me, the devil is a liar. He is the father of lies who only comes around so he can steal, kill, and destroy.

If you are in Christ, the devil does NOT “gotcha”.

Jesus is the only source of life. Peter put it this way, “Lord, to whom would we go? You alone have the words that give eternal life. (Jn 6:68 NLT) If you are a believer in Jesus Christ then you are in Christ. If you are in Christ than Jesus is saying “gotcha.” The difference is that when Jesus says “gotcha” He means “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.” (Jn 10:28 ESV)

If you are not a believer in Jesus Christ, I urge you to call upon Him and accept His invitation to become His child. He loves you, no matter what you may or may not be trapped in. He will never reject you. If you are trapped in a self-medicating behavior please don’t struggle alone. Ask God to bring people into you life that will love and support you. If you can’t find anyone please call or email me and we will do out best to help you.